Classic chilli con carne

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

A great dish for the whole family, chilli con carne is so hassle free to make with our no-nonsense recipe.

Ingredients (serves 6)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1kg/2¼lb lean minced beef
2 glasses red wine
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 red chillies, thinly sliced, or 3-4 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 stick cinnamon
1 beef stock cube
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
Good shake of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 x 400g can red kidney beans, drained
1 large bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Wedges of lime to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and fry the onion and garlic until softened. Increase the heat and add the mince, cooking quickly until browned and breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon. Pour in the red wine and boil for 2-3 minutes. While waiting, pour a glass for yourself.
2. Stir in the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, fresh chilli or chilli flakes, cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon and Worcestershire sauce and crumble in the stock cube. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally until the mixture is rich and thickened.
4. Add the kidney beans and fresh coriander. Cook for a further 10 minutes, uncovered, before removing from the heat, adding any extra seasoning if necessary.
This is ideal served with the lime wedges and also rice, crusty bread or jacket potatoes, guacamole, sour cream and a big green salad.

TIP: The chilli is much tastier a day or two after it is cooked, as the flavours develop and the texture becomes richer. Simply leave to cool, pop it in the fridge and gently heat before serving. If you are eating the chilli on the day you prepared it, any leftovers can be frozen in individual portions in well-sealsed sandwich bags, then reheated by boiling in the bag from frozen in a saucepan of water for about 15-20 minutes, until steaming hot.